I wondered how certain successful people could multiply their income in such a short amount of time, build successful businesses, retire early, and become millionaires next door. Then, I read an article online that stated how the average millionaire has 7 streams of income. Bingo.

I leaned that having one job would never help me really get to where I needed to go with my finances and my life.

So, I decided to start my pursuit of having 7 streams of income, with many being passive income streams.

Realizing You May Need More Money (& The Importance Of Passive Income Streams)

Your health and quality of life should always come first. There’s no argument about that. I understand how some people would rather take a pay cut to be happy and fulfilled in their lives than work a ton of hours. I can respect that.

However, I don’t think it’s realistic or fair to assume that everyone can live comfortably and meet their goals after cutting their pay.

If you’re making $120,000 per year at your job, then yes, you may be able to survive if you take a pay cut. But if you don’t earn $100,000+ annually or even close to that, you probably can’t afford to take a pay cut and may need to be earning more.

It’s important to consider establishing some additional streams of income, including passive income streams. Here’s why.

• Working two jobs or having a side hustle is great, but it can really burn you out over time.
• There’s only so much time in the day, so if you want to increase your income, you’ll need to think outside of the box (Ie. stop trading time for money)
• Passive income streams require a lot of time and effort to create, but you’ll be building something that lasts and brings in money when you’re not actively working.

So how do you start building passive income streams on a low budget? Below are some of my favorite ideas to help you get started.

Keep in mind the word ‘passive’ is subjective. Realistically, you will have to do some work upfront and perhaps even maintenance or ongoing work to ensure the success of your passive income stream.

1. Start a Blog

Blogs are very easy to monetize, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly easy actually to start earning a regular profit. Full-time bloggers have put in countless hours working on their content, marketing it, building credibility, and securing partnerships with others.

To earn an income blogging, first, you need to have a decent amount of traffic. In order to get traffic, you need to post quality content that is not only interesting and engaging but actually helps your readers solve a problem.

You can earn money off your blog by:

• Posting ads through networks like Google Adsense, Media Net, the Blogger Network, etc.
• Referring your readers to try products and services that can actually help them through affiliate marketing – Michelle is a blogger who earns an average of $50,000 per month from affiliate marketing and it’s all legit. Check out her affiliate marketing course if you’re serious about earning more passive income with your blog or website.
• Partnering with brands you like and support to share sponsored content on your platform
• Selling your own products and services from your blog

Monetizing a blog can take a while, and it’s not ideal for someone who wants fast money.

But over time, it can start to become a passive source of extra income even if you aren’t earning much money at first.

I’m definitely no expert on blogging income, but almost every month, my blog itself generates some form of income.

It pays for the initial set-up fees I had to cover itself while leaving me with some extra profit too. My progress has clearly proved that you can monetize a blog even with little experience.

I’m still learning how to grow my blogging income, but why not learn with me and start your own blog to create content you’re passionate about on a platform that you can monetize?

My step-by-step tutorial guide will help walk you through how to start a professional blog that you can monetize in just minutes.

Related: Start a Money-Making Blog in 10 Days

2. Sell a Product on Etsy

Etsy is a great place to sell your handmade or custom creations and products. I do not doubt that some people make a full-time living selling on Etsy.

If you already have a job, though, you probably aren’t interested in working on Etsy full-time.

This is why you should consider creating or selling a product you can resell repeatedly with little maintenance. One of the easiest ways to do this is to sell printables on Etsy.

It’s easy to start, requires little to no equipment and supplies, and can be done right from home. While getting started might be slow, many people make a decent part-time (and even full-time) income creating printables!

Related: Seasonal Printable Products to Sell Online (Free eBook)

3. Write an eBook

Writing an eBook is easier than ever these days. I’ve published one before, and I’m currently working on a new project right now.

Do you have any special credentials or interesting experiences to share? Can you explain a complex topic in a way that is easiest for others to understand?

Writing an ebook and sharing your unique knowledge, information, and resources with others is a great way to diversify your income without spending too much money upfront.

First, you need to find a topic that actually offers a solution to someone’s problem. You need to make sure your content is valuable enough that it will prompt others actually to spend money to receive it.

You could also take this a step further and self-publish novels or fiction works. If you really enjoy writing and want to be an author, there are so many free and paid resources out there that can help you get started!

Just be sure you’re in the right mindset and can focus on writing books during your free time.

Related: How to Create Passive Streams of Income on a Budget

4. Start Freelancing

Freelancing is one of my favorite ways to diversify your income. I wouldn’t have been able to make as much progress with my financial goals if I hadn’t started freelance writing as an additional stream of income.

It didn’t cost much to start earning money, either. I basically started this blog and got a coach to help prepare me to pitch my services to clients. I made back my initial investment in weeks and now I write for about 13+ different websites. In reality, that’s 13 different streams of income! 

With freelancing, you may need to put in more time and effort than these other opportunities I mentioned.

But you can put the extra money to good use by saving or investing it to build wealth.

Plus, you can control how often you work and who you work with as a freelancer. And, to make it a little easier, I’ve included some sites that pay and are looking for freelance writers!

5. Sell Photos Online

If you don’t like to write, there are plenty of other things you can do online and it all depends on what you’re interested in.

For example, I have a friend who loves photography as a hobby but he recently landed a gig taking photos at a local horse racing track.

Freelance photographers can also sell their photos online for cash to earn money as well. And the best part about selling photos online is that you can do it as stock photography and earn passive income. Talk about one of the easiest passive income streams, especially if it’s something you love to do!

6. Dividend Investing

Yes, you can even set up investing as one of your passive income streams. What better way to prepare for your future while getting paid right now? Dividend investing is when you invest in a stock that issues dividends to you on a regular basis.

One of the ways that you can start doing this (without a lot of money) is to set up a robo-advisor. Betterment is my favorite because there isn’t a minimum, fees are extremely low, and you can start seeing growth with just a few dollars a month. While it may not seem much right away, it adds up!

Related: How to Start Investing in Stocks with No Regrets

7. Airbnb

You don’t have to spend thousands on real estate to start earning money from it. If you have a spare room or space that isn’t getting much use, you can start renting it out through a site like Airbnb.

Not only does this mean income in your pocket, but it can also help you pay off your home faster, or at the very least, make use of space you wouldn’t use otherwise.

Related: How to Make Extra Money Renting Out Space in Your Home

Side Hustles Explored: Make Money By Renting Your Car Out

The post How to Create Passive Income Streams on a Low Budget first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How to Create Passive Income Streams on a Low Budget appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

When I first got into freelance writing, I was eager to build up my portfolio so I could get hired for ongoing gigs. I had mostly a journalism-based portfolio at the beginning so I knew I needed to diversify it with blog posts and articles on different websites.

Doing guest posts is one of the best ways to build up your portfolio and get your name/work out there, but usually, guest posts opportunities are not paid.

Most of the guest posts I did at the beginning were for free but my very first one was paid and it felt great to receive compensation for all my hard work.

Related: How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers

How to Send the Perfect Freelance Pitch (+ 5-day Pitching Challenge)

That being said, if you’re looking to earn money from freelance writing rather quickly, paid guest posts are the way to go so you can earn as you build up your portfolio.

I’ve seen quite a few posts online with links to websites that pay for articles but a lot of the information is outdated. That being said, I plan to update this regularly so the information is always valid.

Whether you are looking to write about parenting, fashion, finance, sports, law, technology, travel, food etc. here are 22+ websites that will pay you for a guest post!

1. A Fine Parent

A Fine Parent was my first paid guest post opportunity. If you like writing about parenting topics, they pay $75 per article but you must send an outline first.

Currently, they are not accepting guest posts as they have enough articles to run through July. However, you can sign up to receive notifications for when they’ll open up submissions again here or just check in on the website in August when they’ll most likely invite writers to submit paid guest posts again.

2. The Write Life

If you’re interested in writing about writing, The Write Life has paid $75 per 600-900-word post. The Write Life is a great website for writers to receive tips, advice, and resources that will help advance their careers. If you have any writing tips or stories to share, be sure to check out their submission guidelines. They’re currently closed for submissions, but keep an eye out!

3. Travel and Leisure Magazine

If you’re a travel enthusiast, this digital magazine is run 95% by freelancers. They pay a flat rate, and it varies based on your article. However, they do pay upon submission.

Find out more about submitting your writing to this site here.

4. Pathfinder’s Travel

This is another travel site that pays writers $150 per 800-1,000-word travel post. They also pay $20 per image too if you’d like to submit your own images.

Learn more here.

5. Just Parents

Just Parents is another parenting website that pays $50 per guest post. Find out more here.

6. The Motley Fool

This is another personal finance blog that pays writers $100 for articles that are analytically sound, thoughtful, and well-written. It looks like you have to apply though to submit articles. Find out more here.

7. Doctor of Credit

Doctor of Credit is a personal finance site that accepts guest posts about credit and similar financial topics. They pay $50 per post and may consider working long-term with a writer who can consistently submit quality blog posts.

These submission requirements are from a few years ago but are still valid because I see that the admin on the site still actively monitors the page and responds to comments.

8. A List Apart

This is a digital technology website that posts content about web design, web development, and web content. They pay $50 per mini-post, $100 per article, and $200 per feature. Check out their submission guidelines here.

9. AppStorm

If you love your Apple devices, you can really cash in by writing a guest post for AppStorm. AppStorm publishes articles that discuss apps for the iPad. They pay $60 per submission and you can write an in-depth review, a how-to article on how to use a specific app or a roundup post. Learn more here.

10. The Great Escape

This is another travel website that pays writers. They pay $50-$75 for articles they request for the website, $100-$150 for interviews and personal stories, and $150-$200 for articles with specific income advice a reader can print and follow to earn more income.

Learn more by checking out their submission requirements.

11. Funny Times

If you are confident in your ability to tell funny stories and jokes, you can submit a guest post to this website for $75. They also accept funny cartoon drawings for $30-$50.

Learn more here.

12. IWA Wine Accessories Blog

Are you a wine lover? This site will pay you $20-$50 per 500-700-word blog post about storing and enjoying wine. They love to accept guest posts about the best ways to choose, use, install or enjoy wine cellars, racks, cabinets, and cooling equipment.

Check out their submission guidelines here.

13. LiisBeth

LiisBeth welcomes intellectual service articles, profiles, policy critiques, op-eds, interviews, and personal stories regarding experiences in the start-up space from a feminine perspective.

On average, they pay $250-$2000 per piece depending on the type of work, the original research involved, and length (typically 500-2000 words).

Read more about their submission guidelines here.

14. Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan is a popular magazine you might have heard of. They pay around $1 per word and accept guest submissions on topics ranging from fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.

Learn more here.

15. DailyWorth

DailyWorth accepts guest articles surrounding women and money. They pay $50 per guest post. You can find what they’re looking for and learn more here.

16. Freshbooks

Freshbooks is a popular invoicing and payments website for creatives and small business owners that pay contributors $100+ per 800-word guest post submission.

You can send your pitches here.

17. The Atlantic

The Atlantic is a popular website that is always interested in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions. Their mental health section reportedly pays writers up to $200 per guest post.

Learn more about contributing to the Atlantic here.

18. SB Nation

SB Nation pays for some sports contributions. I did some digging and couldn’t find much about their current rates. If you really want to write about sports, you should reach out to them by sending a pitch and negotiating your pay.

19. LadyQ’s

LadyQ’s is a women’s site that pays writer’s a base of $50 per opinion and editorial pieces, how-to articles, and product reviews. You can find contributor guidelines and instructions for how to submit your pitches here.

20. Loaded Landscapes

Loaded Landscapes is a photography blog that focuses on articles related to landscape, nature, wildlife, and travel photography. Writers are paid $20-$150 depending on the article and the writer’s experience. To apply, click here.

21. Blogger Hangout

Blogger Hangout is a place for writers to go to understand blogging and become more successful at it. The target audience of Blogger Hangout is writers looking to make a full-time income from their blog. They pay $50 per blog post at this time. To apply, click here.

22. Elite Personal Finance

Elite Personal Finance writers shoot for posts between 1,000-3,000 words. Writers will make $300 per post. A few of the accepted topics with Elite Personal Finance are loans, credit cards, identity theft, and credit reports. For more information, you can click here.

23. Make a Living Writing

Make a Living Writing pays $75-$150 per post on topics like blogging, copywriting, ghostwriting, and other blogging niches. For more information, check out their guest post submission guidelines here.

Bonus Tip: Become an Ongoing Paid Writer

Once you land your first paid guest post, it will feel awesome. For me, it sparked my motivation and drive to become a paid freelance writer and land clients who could offer me regular assignments.

If you are interested in earning more as a freelance writer, I launched a course that can help you get started called Freedom With Freelance Writing. 

If you have a laptop and love to write this course can help you start earning as just a side hustle or turn you passion into a full-time business.

If you want to learn how to pitch winning clients the right way, I also have a course called Freelancer’s Winning Pitch that will help you get started and score a quality new client in 10 days or less.

Have you ever heard of or written for any of these sites? What would you add to the list? Do you have any questions for me about freelance writing and submitting guest posts?

The post 22+ Websites That Pay Writers for Guest Posts first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 22+ Websites That Pay Writers for Guest Posts appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

I can’t believe I’ve been working from home full time for almost 5 years now. In 2019, I started going to a local coworking space once a week. Then, when the pandemic hit, I was back to working at home all the time along with tons of Americans.

According to FlexJobs, at least 41% of Americans continued to work from home as of December 2020. Working from home can produce a ton of distractions – like having unlimited access to the kitchen for example. However, I find it best to create a designated space to work or even a home office to help you stay motivated and focused.

I thought it would be fun to share my home office on a budget and some latest additions. My set up is definitely not Instagram-worthy, but there are a lot of great finds I’ve come across to create functional a home office on a budger.

Remember, You Don’t Need an Actual ‘Office Space’

I’ve never had an actual home office in an enclosed space. We have a small home and need all of the bedrooms so instead, I opted for an office nook in an open are of the house. It works for me because while my husband is at work and the kids are doing school, the house is pretty quiet anyway.

This just goes to show you that you don’t need a ton of space to have a functional home office. In fact, keeping the space concise can help you save money since it’s much less to furnish.

As you can see, my space is pretty simple, yet everything serves a purpose in helping me focus on the task at hand and get more done each day.

I chose to spend more money on bigger items like my laptop, monitor and writing desk. We all know computers are expensive. I purchased my Macbook Pro from Best Buy during a Black Friday sale a few years ago. Yes, it was pricey, but it’s worked pretty well over the years. Plus, since I run an online business, I was able to deduct this purchase on my taxes. In fact, what I spent on most of these items was tax-deductible since I run a blog and freelance writing business.

Here’s a breakdown of how much I spent on some of the other things in my affordable home office.

Home Office On a Budget

Monitor – $159

I purchased a white 23-inch HP monitor from Amazon last fall and it came with an HDMI cord used to connect it to my laptop so I can have two screens. Right now, this monitor is listed at a slightly higher price, but Amazon’s prices often fluctuate and sometimes they even offer coupons and discounts on certain items.

Triple Docking Station – $109

I purchased this multi-function docking station from Best Buy in order to connect my monitor to my MacBook. This is a USB Type C with two HDMI ports, a microSD slot, mic and speaker port, and a lot of other capabilities. You can check it out here.

Desk – $184

I use the See Jane Work Writing Desk that I got from Office Depot a few years ago and I love it. I eyed this desk for several months before buying it and waited for a good sale so I don’t believe I actually paid the $184 that it is listed for now.

The desk is very sturdy and great for small offices. Keep in mind that you don’t always have to buy your desk brand new. You can always look for a sturdy gently-used desk online or at your local resale shop. I actually found a nice desk for my son to use for homeschooling for free in our neighborhood. Someone was throwing it out so we grabbed it and took it home. Then, I sanded it down and repainted it in a beautiful sky blue color. You can see what it looks like in this video where I’m walking through our homeschool set-up.

Gray Recliner – $149

This gray recliner chair sofa is from Yaheetech and it’s so comfortable and perfect for a small office space. I can definitely see myself using this chair to read or work while taking a break from my desk. Sometimes I’m a little hesitant about having furniture delivered from an online store, but this chair actually arrived pretty quickly and was easy to assemble since it came in just two main pieces. Yaheetech also sells other office chairs, living room furniture, and other home items as well for affordable prices.

It took my husband and our foster son only 5 minutes to set up.

Wall and Desk Decor

I got a lot of my decorations for cheap from places like Dollar General, Five Below, and Hobby Lobby. Some things were also gifts too which was nice. My main idea was not to make it too cluttered but to also add some nice wall decorations, motivational sayings, candles, etc. to really get my energy up when I sit down to work.

One of the best small purchases I made for this set-up would also be my dry erase board. I got it from Target for around $10 and I like it so much more than a calendar because I can update my daily and weekly tasks pretty easily and make changes whenever I want.

File Cabinet – $95

My file cabinet sits on the other side of my desk and I got this one from Wayfair for $95 when it was one sale. Just like Amazon, Wayfair offers some really good sales and discounts from time-to-time so it’s best to keep an eye on the items you’re considering on the site.

This file cabinet is perfect for helping me organize contracts and other forms while keeping paper clutter to a minimum.

Wrapping It Up

My home office on a budget didn’t come to fruition overnight. It took time to add things slowly and shop around – but you can totally do this as well! Whether you have a full room to utilize or a smaller space in your home, having a designated space to work can do wonders for your productivity and your sanity while you work from home.

Do you work remotely? If so, have you thought about creating a home office?

The post Fixing Up Your Home Office on a Budget first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post Fixing Up Your Home Office on a Budget appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

So there’s two things.

1.) I’ve been working on launching my new blog, ChonceMaddox.com which will take a different approach from this blog. Nothing is changing on MyDebtEpiphany, but ChonceMaddox.com will focus more on working remotely and building a flexible online business.

2.) I get so many questions about freelance writing and how I turned it into a full-time job. With more and more Americans diving into freelancing, I wanted to create a program that can help you learn how to start freelance writing and go from $0 to earning several thousand dollars per month.

So after several months of planning and creating, this week I’m launching Freedom With Freelance Writing!

This course breaks down step-by-step how to become a freelance writer (with no experience) and how to go from side hustle to full-time freelancer. Remember, you can earn a full-time income from freelancing with only part-time hours.

Why I Decided to Become a Freelance Writer

I turned to freelance writing because I wanted a change. My last 9-5 job was okay at first, but it didn’t really make me feel fulfilled or like I was doing work that inspired me. I truly believe that if you’re going to spend so much of your life working, you might as well do something you enjoy and are passionate about.

There have been many benefits of working from home like:

• Being able to set my own schedule
• Enjoy more time with family
• Volunteer at my son’s school
• And have more energy and availability to provide self-care

About 5 years ago, I was working and commuting back and forth to work so much that I felt extremely drained and had gained a lot of weight. I always had sugary drinks and candy at my desk because it helped me cope with the stress of work.

Now that I work for myself, I have more freedom and flexibility over my schedule and what I prioritize. Back when gyms were open, I’d go to fitness classes at 8 am before starting my writing work and I enjoy having that option.

How I Got Started

I actually started freelance writing before I started this blog. I used to read personal finance blogs all the time and I reached out to one of my favorite bloggers to see if I could contribute to their site. Mind you, I was so passionate about writing that I started doing this for free. At the time, I was also picking up $20 article gigs on Craigslist.

Then, I saw people making REAL money from freelance writing. Some were successful 6-figure writers and I wanted in. I found someone who could be a good mentor in terms of teaching me everything I needed to know about becoming a profitable freelance writer.

I’m not going to lie, I did have to make some sacrifices in order to pay for a writing mentor but luckily I was able to break the fee up into 3 payments. Still, I knew that if I just landed 1-3 clients, I would earn back that investment and bring in a steady side income to help me pay off my debt faster.

Fast forward 5 years, my freelance writing business has been consistent and growing. I know there are so many other people out there looking for a real and flexible way to make money online – so I created Freedom With Freelance Writing to show you how!

Freedom With Freelance Writing –  Here’s What You Learn & Get:

• Bonus #1: 4-Day Pitching Challenge – (To help you land your first clients FAST). Learn how to land more clients with targeted pitching strategies.
• Bonus #2: Personalized Pitch Review – Pitch clients with confidence knowing that you can send pitches to me first for review and personalized feedback.

• Bonus #3: Freelance Income + Profit Tracker – Do you know the difference between income and profit? This customizable spreadsheet will help you keep track of all your freelance payments, expenses, and tax payments from month-to-month so you can get a clear picture of your earnings as you reach income goals.
• Bonus #4: Rate Increase Template – My rate increase templates will help you secure the rate you want without damaging a professional relationship.
• Bonus #5: Private Facebook Group – You’ll also get access to a private Facebook group that is for students of the Freedom With Freelance course. This group will have accountability and support, live office hours, leads, networking opportunities, and it’s free for 90 days when you enroll!
• Bonus #6: Massive List of Leads – In the private Facebook group you’ll have access to my Massive List of Client Leads with over 100 websites and businesses that hire writers.

To quickly recap, the Freedom With Freelance Writing course will teach you:

• How to make the mindset shift from employee to successful business owner
• How to find your dream writing clients
• Different types of writing work you can paid for
• How to price your services for profit
• Strategies to land your first client by the end of Week 3 in the program
• How to solidify your brand
• Winning networking strategies to get more referrals
• Productivity and scheduling tips
• How to keep clients and team members happy long term
• And much, much more!

Plus you get amazing support throughout the course:

Learn more about the program and enroll here.

Student Testimonials

My goal is to help everyone who enrolls be successful and find their first few clients before the program even ends. That way, you’re making money and earning back your investment early on. Check out what people are already saying about working with me.

If you are looking to improve your pitch and start landing freelance writing clients, I would suggest Choncé’s course. Each lesson you get a new step that is easy to follow and put into action. I got my first gig days after implementing Chonce’s course content. A meager investment for a great return!”

– Sabrina Jay (Took the 4-day Pitching Challenge which is included in Freedom With Freelance Writing)

Working with Chonce truly helped me gain the clarity and insight I needed to level up in my freelance writing. She was very patient with me as I asked many questions and her answers were always extremely helpful. She shared amazing leads with me and one ended up with me landing a staff writing trial with Young Adult Money!

Chonce really knows her stuff and if you actually want to scale your writing business then I highly recommend working with her in ANY capacity!”

          -Angelique MacArthur, blogger at theinbetweenlife.com (Worked with me via one-on-one freelance writing coaching)

Thank You For The Support!

I just wanted to give you a big thanks for all the support whether you’re a new reader or have been around for some time. Writing quality and engaging content doesn’t as much if there aren’t awesome people to read it and be impacted by it.

If you’re interested in enrolling in Freedom With Freelance Writing, you can do that here. Or if you know someone who may be interested in joining the program feel free to share it with them.

If you want to learn more about the freelance writing world before you dive into the course, then join my free webinar training on freelance writing here.

See you inside the webinar and course!

The post It’s HERE! – Freedom With Freelance Writing! first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post It’s HERE! – Freedom With Freelance Writing! appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Become a Pinterest VA Today! was created by Kristin Larsen and Gina Horkey who are two of the most successful virtual assistants I’ve ever come across.

Kristin was one of my first online friends and we initially connected two years ago when she started helping me create attractive Pinterest-friendly images for my blog. As a new blogger, I was super overwhelmed and just wanted to write great content.

Kristin loves Pinterest marketing and she was super good at it so she used her skills to help me build my blog’s traffic with Pinterest. Fast forward to today, she and Gina Horkey (who I also really admire) partnered up and created this awesome course to teach people how to become a Pinterest VA and earn a part or full-time income from this flexible and fun line of online work.

I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this course each time it’s rolled out and this year, I even hired a former student to help manage my blog’s Pinterest account. Lindsey has truly exceeded my expectations (so run over to her site and hire her if you need Pinterest help! ) and I was so thankful she allowed me to interview her about her experience with taking the Become a Pinterest VA Today! course.

Hope you love the interview as much as I did!

What made you decide to become a Pinterest VA? How did you find the course?

I had already taken Gina’s course “30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success” and gained a wealth of knowledge from it. Gina was very hands-on with the course and was always so fast and so helpful when answering questions.

So, when I found out she was offering a Pinterest VA class, I jumped on it. I love Pinterest and I knew that the quality of the course would be excellent because I was already familiar with Gina.

Did you have any doubts or fears before taking the course? If so, what were they?

I honestly did not have any doubts.

What was the most valuable takeaway from the course? Or can you rank your top 3?

For me, figuring out how to set up packages was the hardest part when I first started my VA business. This course clearly shows you how to price and package your Pinterest VA services. This was so valuable to me because I had already struggled with it when I was just starting out.

How long after taking the course did it take you to find work?

Within 2 weeks after finishing the course, I landed not one, but two clients back to back.

When did you earn back your investment from the course with Pinterest Va work?
I earned my investment back after getting my first Pinterest VA client.

Would you mind disclosing how much you earn a month on average now from Pinterest VA work?
I work part-time and I average about $1,200 per month. That includes both monthly clients and one time projects I complete, like Pinterest audits.

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of Pinterest VA work?

Searching Pinterest is a pro! I get paid to search Pinterest on a daily basis and I love it. I also enjoy meeting new clients and the relationships I form with them.

My least favorite part is pitching. I think this is something a lot of people struggle with though. For me personally, pitching takes putting yourself out there and possibly being rejected. My advice is to do it anyway! I can honestly say it has gotten easier the more I do it.

How has your work schedule changed if at all?

My work schedule is pretty flexible, which is wonderful. For example, we went to Disney World this last summer and I did my Pinterest work at night after we were done for the day.

It doesn’t affect my family life – if anything, it helps improve it! With the few exceptions like a vacation, I work during the day when my kids are at school. I occasionally work with the kids are in bed, but honestly, this is not my most focused time so this is usually only when I am needing to meet a deadline. I do not work on the weekends. This is reserved for family time.

What types of people do you think would do well with this course and see the best results?

I honestly think this career is suitable for a variety of people. I would say the three most important qualities to have are being organized, being an effective communicator, and a willingness to learn new things.

To keep track of both monthly clients and one-time projects, you have to be organized. Otherwise, you won’t know who’s project to work on and when.

You have to be an effective communicator to manage client expectations. Pinterest is a slow burn so to speak and clients may want to know why they aren’t seeing results as fast as they think they should be. You have to be able to communicate how Pinterest works and set expectations up from the beginning.

Lastly, you have to be willing to learn new things. Like all platforms, Pinterest changes from time to time, which means you have to stay up to date on those changes to be effective for your clients.

What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about becoming a Pinterest VA?

I would say make sure you love being on Pinterest first and foremost. Don’t pursue this career because you think it is the next big service to offer. Your clients will be able to tell your heart isn’t in it.

Gina and Kristin are some of the nicest people you will ever meet! They go above and beyond for their students. Case in point: I was needing help with some analytics and Kristin jumped on a Skype call with me the same day I emailed her for help. Who does that?! Kristin and Gina do! I have been amazed at how they freely give advice to their students as well as cheer you on. To me, that is invaluable.

Your Turn

Hopefully, you had some great takeaways from this interview and it inspired you to explore the idea of earning money doing flexible online work you actually enjoy. Become a Pinterest VA is such a value-packed course intended to help you get results quickly.

Here’s what the course includes:

• 5 comprehensive video modules:
• (1)Understanding the Pinterest Virtual Assistant Role
• (2)Establishing Your Pinterest Virtual Assistant Practice
• (3)Finding Pinterest Virtual Assistant Clients
• (4)Working with Pinterest Virtual Assistant Clients
• (5)Expanding Your Pinterest Virtual Assistant Practice
• Actionable companion workbooks and templates
• 15+ technical training videos
• Pinterest scheduling spreadsheet
• Promoted Pins Training ($199 value)
• Client Monthly Analytics Report and Template ($99 value)
• Client Onboarding Workbook ($99 value)
• Accelerator Companion Program ($299 value)
• Tailwind pinning calendar and 60 days of Tailwind service for free
• Q&A recordings with previous students
• Private Facebook group access
• Lifetime access and FREE material updates
• 7-day refund policy if not satisfied with your purchase!

What you’ll learn:

• Who needs a Pinterest VA (and what one is!)
• Pinterest technical training
• Pin requirements and best practices
• What tools you should use (and who should pay for them)
• How to establish a web presence and showcase your expertise
• What services to offer and how much to charge (including real-life examples from a Pinterest biz)
• Where to look for clients how to pitch them (with templates!)
• How to interview onboard new clients
• Invoicing and contract tips and tricks
• How to read analytics and client reporting

Whether you’re now eager to learn how to become a Pinterest VA or are just playing with the idea, I’d encourage you to sign up for Become a Pinterest VA Today because what do you have to lose? (Nothing really, because the course has a 7-day money back guarantee.)

More importantly, what do you have to GAIN?

• An exciting business opportunity this year?
• Extra income for your family?
• A new career that you absolutely LOVE?
• More time to spend with your kids?
• Work that you can do from anywhere – on your terms and schedule?
• Sweet new Pinterest skills?
• Increased confidence in yourself and your VA biz?

Have you ever thought about becoming a Pinterest VA or do you know someone who would make a great fit?

P.S. – I created a new Facebook community for My Debt Epiphany readers so we can discuss all things money and personal development on a more personal level. Click here to join the group and I’ll approve your request ASAP!

The post How This Pinterest VA Earns $1,200/month first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How This Pinterest VA Earns $1,200/month appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

I found it helpful reading these types of posts when I was a new blogger as well as when I was thinking about quitting my day job to run my online business full time.

I like to share my daily routine, work schedule for anyone who’s curious about what it takes to run a blog or freelance. Some people get confused about what I do for a living and if it’s actually work

Trust me, it is. I work just as much as I did (if not more)  now than when I had my 9-5 job. I truly love what I do though and it’s a blessing that I get to help others and make money doing it.

Self-employment has allowed me to increase my income rapidly helping me pay off my debt faster and save more.

Related: A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Work-From-Home Mom

Here’s the thing though, my schedule is pretty flexible and no day is ever quite the same. That’s why this time around, I decided to share a ‘week in the life’ style post to go over how I structure my weeks and what I do each day.

Monday – Wednesday

I typically split my work week up in two main sections. Monday through Wednesday, I spend most of my time freelancing.

I have a few freelance writing clients and two virtual assistant clients. For my VA clients, I mostly do blog management which includes editing and scheduling blog posts along with some light SEO work.

I try to write at least 3 client articles per day from Monday through Wednesday. Most of my writing clients are in the personal finance niche and a few are in the small business niche.

I enjoy working with all my clients and covering topics that are important to me. Some clients have me pitch ideas to write for them while others assign topics. To be honest, I like the mix of both options.

Sometimes I’m feeling creative and passionate about covering certain topics while other times my brain is fried and I just want to be told what to write

Related: 22+ Websites That Pay Writers for Guest Posts

Thursday and Friday

Once Thursday hits, I switch over and start focusing more on doing tasks for my blog. I may have a client meeting on one of these days but otherwise, I focus strictly on My Debt Epiphany.

I do things like:

• Write and edit blog posts
• Schedule social media
• Write and schedule emails for my subscribers
• Seek out potential partners for my brand
• Work on special products like webinars, products, etc.
• Learn a new skill that will help me grow my blog business (currently, I’m focused on improving my copywriting skills and getting better at Facebook ads)

Overall, it takes a lot of moving parts to keep things running smoothly. You can check out the link below to see how I actually monetize my blog and how you can do the same if you have a blog or niche site.

Related: How to Make Money With a Blog or Niche Site

I aim to spend around 10 hours per week on my blog. I recently started tracking my time with a free tool called Clockify and it’s helping me work more efficiently.

To continue working smart, I also outsource a few things so I’m not doing everything by myself.

I hire out:

• Contractors to help me publish more valuable content on this site
• A virtual assistant to help me with special projects
• Some social media work and scheduling
• Graphics creation – I hire someone to design my Pinterest images for this site as well as some of the graphics for my digital products and custom-made resources because I can’t design stuff for diddly squat

Weekends

Yes, I work on weekends more often than I’d like to admit. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I suck at work-life balance. Sometimes, I don’t really give myself an off day because I’m trying to meet deadlines and get stuff done.

Sometimes, I have to take time off during the week or take a trip and usually end up working weekends to catch up or prepare for the time off. As an example, last week I went on a field trip with my son on Friday so I spent some time on Friday evening catching up on stuff.

In general, I like to be at least one week ahead on all my freelance writing client work so I’ll use weekends to catch up and make sure I’m always ahead.

For a freelancer, I’d highly recommend working ahead when you can. You don’t get paid when you don’t work. So if you need to take time off, it helps to already have some of your work caught up so you can still earn an income.

Sometimes I get up on Saturdays around 8 am to write an article or two if I didn’t get it done during the week. If I didn’t get around to scheduling social media posts on Friday, I’ll use weekends to do this as well.

Daily Schedule

Here’s what my schedule is typically like on a weekday.

6:00 – Wake up. Do daily devotions, stretch, drink water, and check a few emails. I like to go through emails before I start working for the day because I feel anxious if I don’t. I may work on a small task during this time as well if I feel up to it.

My husband takes the lead on getting our son ready for son up and ready for school in the morning and I’m so grateful for that. I handle the after-school stuff, but mornings are super important to me as it’s when I have the most energy and feel most productive.

7:00 – 7:45 – Gym. I try to go to the gym in the morning for at least 45 minutes. I’m really not a gym person, but I sit on my butt all day so I have to do something. The weather is cold currently but I’d rather just ride my bike or do something active over going to the gym for a formal workout. However, mornings work best for me so I can get it over with. I try to make it to the gym at least 3 times per week.

If I don’t go to the gym, I usually just get ready and start working around this time.

8:00 – 8:30 – Get back from the gym. Eat breakfast and get dressed for the day.

Getting dressed each day is new for me because I work at home and for the past 2 years, I’ve been tempted to just work in my pajamas for most of the day until I go somewhere. This can backfire sometimes when I have to jump on video meetings with clients and feel like I’m looking crazy.

Getting dressed actually makes me feel better and more productive. It also helps me take myself more seriously so I try to do it

8:30 – Start work for the day. The work I do depends on which day of the week it is. My goal during this time is to time block and knock out my most mentally challenging tasks for the day.

I try to limit social media time, distractions, and emails.

10:30 – Quick break. This is not an official break time, but I know for a fact that I tend to take a quick 10-20 minute break during the morning.

My husband walks our 13-month old dog multiple times per day so when the weather gets nicer, I’ll start to go on morning walks with them.

10:50 – Back to work.

12:30 pm – 1:15 pm – Break for lunch. I usually each lunch at home with my husband, since he works from home too. If we’re out at a coffee shop or the library, we’ll either come home for lunch or grab something.

1:15 pm – 3:00 pm – Another power hour for work. This is the final countdown in a sense for me because once I get my son from school, it’s more difficult to work distraction free.

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm– Pick up Jordan from school. The school is fairly close but it takes this long because there’s some traffic and I have to sit in the pickup line for a bit.

When we drive home, he tells me about his day along with all the happenings and cute drama going on in his 3rd-grade class.

3:30 pm – 4:45 pm – Homework and finishing up for the day. During this time, Jordan does his homework and I take advantage of the time to squeeze in a little more work myself if I need to. On Wednesday, I have a drum lesson around 3:30 pm so that also keeps me occupied during this time.

5:00 pm – Either I or my husband starts dinner and we start cleaning up around the house. I may listen to a podcast while I do this of just chatting with the fam. We also try to prep things for the following day while dinner is cooking. This means picking out clothes packing lunch for Jordan, planning future meals, getting organized, etc. Jordan usually has his free time.

6:00 pm – Dinner. Dinner is not at a strict time but it just depends on what we’re doing for the day or if we have anywhere to go in the evening.

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – If we don’t have anywhere to go in the evening, we’ll just have family time at home. Sometimes I’ll visit my mom and siblings who live close by or they’ll come over. Other times, we’ll play a game (we’re obsessed with this one right now), watch a movie or whatever.

8:30 – Get Jordan ready for bed. Jordan never wants to go to bed so it’s a struggle. He purposely takes 30-minute showers and asks for snacks to stall his bedtime I feel, haha. I’m lucky if he’s in bed by 8:30 but it’s usually no later than 9.

8:30 – 10:30 – This is wind down time for my husband and I. We usually talk, watch a show, or read a book together. Right now we’re reading a marriage communication book. I heard from a couple that it’s super helpful to read a book with your partner out loud.

Other days, we are just bombarded by the day. My husband may go out to Uber for a few hours after Jordan goes to sleep and I may do some evening work. I really don’t like working nights, but sometimes I just do it.

My husband helps me do some things on my blog so I may spend this time checking over some of the stuff he’s done, assigning tasks to him, contractors, and my VA in Asana or basically prepping for the next day.

10:30 – Bedtime. Sleep is so important to me. If I don’t get enough sleep, I won’t be getting up early in the morning and I won’t function well. By this time, I’m usually exhausted anyway and ready to knock out and catch some Zzzzzs.

Why I Feel I Suck at Work-Life Balance

I’m pretty pleased with my daily/weekly schedule as of now, but I do feel my work-life balance could be better.

I actually don’t believe in finding the perfect work-life balance, but I do feel it can be such a struggle especially when you side hustle and work from home.

Sometimes, I feel like I work wayyyyy too much and have less time for my social/personal life which is why I feel things could be better.

Here are some of the reasons why I feel I suck at work-life balance.

Social media – Like most people probably, I feel like I waste too much time on social media. I run a Facebook group and I also try to be active in a few other Facebook groups, but I’m really trying to keep my time limited on social media.

I recently deleted all my social apps except Instagram. I try to put my phone away in the evening and give myself some dedicated time to check social media once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I’m actually thinking about turning on a timer on my phone to help ensure I’m not wasting too much time on this.

Working nights and weekends – I really want to stop doing this. I think it all just comes down to planning and putting work away at a specific time.

I have every intention to not work weekends but stuff just pops up sometimes whether it’s work I didn’t get to or tasks like updating my accounting spreadsheet to track business income and expenses.

Sometimes if I have nothing to do in the evening, I’ll get out my laptop and start doing things like scheduling social media content while watching a show or movie. Often times, it doesn’t really feel like work, but I want to have more set hours and not feel tempted to do this during the weekend.

Working on the go – Okay so I picked up this really bad habit of bringing my laptop with me whenever we go somewhere that is more than 30 minutes away. Sometimes we go to visit my in-laws or other friends and if the drive is more than 30 minutes, I’ll often bring my laptop so I can type and crank out a blog post on the way.

By the way, I’m currently typing this blog post while on the way home from a weekend in Wisconsin.

Is this a genius move or just plain workaholic? Be honest! On one end, I feel like it’s productive because I probably wouldn’t be doing anything during the ride anyway and I can get some work done so I can relax when I get home. On the other hand, I feel it makes my husband seem like my driver and discourages a conversation between us during the drive. I’m torn on doing this!

Not scheduling in time with friends – Maybe it’s just something that happens when you get older, but I find it hard to keep up with friends because we all have careers, family, responsibilities, etc.

I feel it just comes down to keeping lines of communication open and scheduling in time together. I need to start showing up for my personal life just like I do for my professional life.

That means scheduling in time with friends and date nights with my husband so I can get it on my calendar and prioritize it. At the very minimum, I should start scheduling free time so I know when I can get out and do stuff.

Related: 10 High-Paying Part-Time Work From Home Jobs

At the end of the day, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work from home. It provides me with a ton of flexibility and I work in projects that I love.

When it comes to balance, I know I’ll never have the perfect balance, so I’m just trying to roll with the punches for now. I have a ton of exciting projects I’m working on this year and I know everything will require a lot of my time and commitment. This is my season to hustle and crush it.

What does your typical schedule look like? What time do you wake up? Have you ever thought about working from home?

The post A Week in the Life of a Work From Home Writer (Why I Suck at Work-Life Balance) first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post A Week in the Life of a Work From Home Writer (Why I Suck at Work-Life Balance) appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

I never thought I’d quit my job to start working for myself, but I never felt like I fit in at other jobs. I never felt like working for someone else was the right fit for me. I started my blog in December 2014 on a whim. It was either a personal finance blog or a resume writing blog and business. Did I ever openly share that? I didn’t think so.

Needless to say, this little blog was one of the best things that ever happened to me. In unlocked a new passion and purpose along with a more fulfilling lifestyle and career.

It hasn’t been all roses and unicorns, however. Here are 5 lessons about self-employment that I learned in the past two years.

1. Working For Yourself Isn’t the Key to Happiness

I find it hard to convince myself that I fun a small business. Sure, I freelance and some people may say that’s not a business, but it basically is. It requires so much work just to stay on top of everything. Plus, I manage a small team to help run me this blog which I treat like a business.

There’s this big push for people (especially millennials) to chase their dreams and start a business. We see people sharing their best highlights of entrepreneurship on Instagram. I can’t go on Facebook without seeing an ad from a successful “guru” who is offering a free training to do this and that.

They all promise or imply the same thing: that you will be happy, fulfilled, and experience true freedom when you take the leap from your boring and mediocre 9 to 5.

This isn’t necessarily true so don’t get your hopes up if you’re considering full-time self-employment. In the past 2 years, working for myself has only made me about 25% happier overall.

That happiness stems from the fact that I no longer feel anxiety on Sunday nights because I don’t have to drive to a job I hate in the morning, along with being able to do meaningful work that I love and the ability to be more present in my son’s life.

I can take field trips with him, pick him up from school each day, and spend more time with him now that I set my own hours.

However, I still work and I still have bad days just as often as the good days. Entrepreneurship won’t bring total and complete happiness in your life. If that were the case, successful business owners wouldn’t be identifying with depression and heads of big brands wouldn’t commit suicide, unfortunately. Money and the freedom having a business provide doesn’t solve all your problems.

Happiness is a choice, and it’s already inside of you. Last year, I read The Happiness Dare which has some spiritual elements to it, but it’s a must-read for anyone who’s trying to consciously focus on improving their level of happiness.

2. It Can Get Lonelyyyyyyyy

Being able to work at home in my pajamas is wonderful, but it can get lonely. After two years, I don’t miss office politics, but I do miss interacting with more people on a regular basis.

It’s so easy to get caught up with work and talking to my online entrepreneur friends that I forget the whole day has almost passed and I haven’t even left the house. Sometimes, my saving grace is knowing that I have to pick my son up from school.

About a year ago, I started a meetup group for local bloggers, but it was more like a mastermind and it was difficult to get a consistent schedule and attendance.

Now, I know I just need to focus on getting out and being around people more often. If you’re self-employed, you need to try coworking, meetups, or simply hold yourself accountable for taking the time to hang out with friends, and other people. Don’t let deadlines run your life. There will always be something to do in your business.

I will probably be trying another coworking space in the near future.

3. Time is Money

If you want to become self-employed and be successful at it, you’ll need to become great at time management. Time is money but this is especially true when you start working for yourself.

If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. It’s up to me to generate streams of income to keep my business afloat. When I want to take time off, I need to make sure I’m still meeting my minimum income requirements.

There’s no one to monitor me to make sure I get a certain amount of work done or stay on track. This puts more pressure on my to focus and be productive.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes I fail at this and have super unproductive days.

I often view my success in terms of time. I’ve learned to cut out distractions, set working hours and say no to requests that occur during those hours. Just because I’m in control of my own schedule doesn’t mean I can drop what I’m doing at 11 am and run an errand for a family member.

I thrive when working during mornings and daytime hours so I now know that lost focus and lost time often translates into lost money.

4. Set Your Income Goals High to Create Consistency

I’m sure everyone wants to make more money when they transition from 9-5 to self-employment. I’ve read income reports before where people talked about wanting to make HUGE amounts of money. Now, from one perspective, that may make them seem greedy, but I totally get it.

When you work for yourself, you basically have to make more money than you think you need. There are tons of expenses you may have to cover to keep your business running. Plus, taxes are higher and you’ll need to cover your own benefits like health insurance, retirement, and time off.

Since your expenses will likely increase, your income needs to increase right along with it. It sounds crazy, but for someone who’s self-employed and has a family, $8,000 a month ($96,000 per year) may or may not be a sustainable enough income.

If you set aside around 25% of your earnings for taxes, that’s $2,000 you’d need to put away. Then, say your business expenses are around $1,000 per month. That already brings you down to $5,000 total profit. If your rent or mortgage is $1,500 per month, that leaves you with $3,500 left. You see how it goes from there.

Also, it’s important not to forget that your income will fluctuate all the time when working for yourself. To keep things consistent, it helps to set your income goals high so you can save some of the surplus for slower months. I’ve gone without having a checking account buffer or savings stash and it can be stressful when my monthly earnings come in lower than expected.

Related: Why I Left a Stable Paycheck For an Uncertain Income

5. Narrowing Down Your Niche Is Important

When I started playing around with the idea of becoming self-employed, I just wanted to make money and prove to myself that it was possible. I said yes to everything and tried to serve anyone and every with this blog.

It took a long time, but I finally came to the realization that I need to niche down in order to reach my long-term business goals.

I just came back from a conference last month and that was the most important lesson I learned there. I stumbled over my pitch when meeting others and eventually realized that I just sounded confused and generic. I knew that after blogging for almost 4 years, that shouldn’t be the case.

It sucks that it took me years to realize that, but now that I know, I’m looking forward to niching down with this site and my freelance work.

If you are thinking of becoming self-employed, choose a specific niche or two that you want to focus on. You may think this will limit your capabilities, but it will actually do the opposite. When you are clear on who you serve, you can start to become an expert in your field and offer more value to your target audience.

Those are just 5 of the key lessons about self-employment that I’ve learned in the past 2 years.

Did any of these things surprise you? If you’re self-employed, did you also find some of these lessons to be true?

The post 5 Lessons Learned After 2 Years of Self-Employment first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 5 Lessons Learned After 2 Years of Self-Employment appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

There was been tons of ups and downs for me throughout the past year and I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that my income is pretty uncertain.

I have bills to pay and fixed expenses but I don’t have a set salary or guaranteed hours so I don’t know exactly how much I’ll earn this year or even this month.

My business income consists of blogging (where earnings can really be all over the place) and I try to stabilize it somewhat with freelance writing and virtual assistant services.

I go into every month not knowing exactly how much I’ll make and while some of you may find that stressful, I’ve gotten used to it and learned to embrace it. For the most part, I’m able to secure some contracts with freelance clients but much of the freelance work I do is on a month-to-month basis so it could stop at any given moment.

Last year, I experienced this when I lost a mid-sized client unexpectedly.

So, why did I quit my stable job over a year ago for this uncertain lifestyle?

I Embrace the Hustle

Working for yourself can mean you really have to hustle in many ways. Time is money because when you don’t work or create income streams, you don’t make any money.

You don’t get benefits like a 401(k) plan, health insurance, and you had to pay for taxes all on your own. If you freelance, it’s up to you to find clients who will hire you so you can make money.

While this might sound daunting, it’s actually quite freeing. When I lost my client abruptly, it was via email on a random weekday afternoon. I met up with my mom later to watch my sister’s powderpuff football game and I told her what happened.

She asked me what I was going to do and I told her I’d just find another client which is exactly what I did. My income was hit from losing a client who’d paid me anywhere from $600 – $750 for the past year but I still had other income from different clients I work with.

When you just have one job and lose it, things can be devastating but when you work for yourself and build a business with multiple income streams, you can usually bounce back pretty quickly. You just have to hustle from time to time. I immediately started pitching new clients and went to an industry conference a few weeks later where I’d met some new people I could work with.

Soon after, that lost income had been replaced and then some. For me, it’s easier to land new freelance clients and start getting paid quickly than it would be to land a whole new job and go through the interviewing and onboarding process.

For the most part, I establish a long-term commitment to my clients and have been working with a few people for over two years. However, it’s important to realize that your job is not 100% secure no matter what you do and I embrace being able to hustle and brush up on my networking and pitching skills when I have to.

Related: 22+ Websites That Will Pay You For Guest Posts

How to Get Started With Freelance Writing

How to Become a Virtual Assistant

More Passionate About What I Do Now

Another reason why I left my stable traditional job is because I wasn’t enjoying the work I was doing. When I was first hired, I was excited about the job and passionate.

As time went on, my interests changed and I became drained and unhappy with the work I was doing. Meanwhile, I was working hard on my blog and freelancing on the side.

I’d wake up early and stay up late to do the side work and while it was very time consuming, it made me happy again because I’d found something I was passionate about doing once again.

I also realized I didn’t want to spend my life working for someone else and making their dreams come true. I have my own dreams and vision and I wanted to work for myself. We all spend a huge portion of our lives working which is why it doesn’t make sense to keep working at a job you don’t like.

Related: Crucial Steps to Take Before Taking a Leap of Faith and Quitting Your Job

Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers

Ability To Make More Money

One of the obvious motivations for becoming self-employed was being able to earn more money. Even though my income at my last job was steady and guaranteed, it also was pretty low and I knew I had nowhere to go but up.

I went to school for journalism and communications and in the writing field, jobs are often competitive and low-paying. Last year, I earned around $70,000 during the first full year of having my online business.

This is only the 3rd year that I’ve been out of college and I wouldn’t be able to demand that type of money from a traditional employer without having at least 5-7+ years of experience.

I can now control my income more by choosing my own rates. I don’t have to work with a client who isn’t able to pay them. With blogging, it takes time to earn money but the sky can be the limit.

Instead of asking someone else for a raise, I can create a strategy to implement in order to double my income for this year if I wanted to. Money isn’t everything, but being able to increase my income allows me to meet more of my financial goals quicker like paying off debt, saving, and investing.

Related: 80+ Ways to Make Extra Money

How to Make Money With a Blog or Niche Site

Flexibility

Finally, flexibility is another key reason why I choose to start working for myself. I’m a very Type A person and I love to operate on a schedule. That being said, I like to set that schedule instead of someone else doing it for me.

Since I can choose which hours I work, I decide to work during the school day so I can pick my son up after school saving money on additional care.

I can also plan longer trips and vacations if I want since I don’t have to request days off and I don’t have to ask anyone if I can set a doctor’s or dentist appointment on a particular day.

If something comes up and I get busy, I can stay up late to work or get up early the following day. While the flexibility is nice, it does come with some setbacks. Sometimes, loved ones don’t understand how I work and think I’m free all the time.

I still work full-time and usually during business hours so I hardly ever sleep in or take a day off to binge on Netflix. But, I can if I wanted to or needed to. I’d just need to set a specific time to pick back up with work to stay on track.

Related: A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Work From Home Mom

To Sum It Up

Self-employment definitely felt like the right decision when I first quit my job and it still feels like the right decision. Each day is not perfect and sometimes, I even second guess myself and my choice but deep down at the end of the day, it feels like I’m where I’m supposed to be.

The post Why I Left a Stable Paycheck For an Uncertain Income first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post Why I Left a Stable Paycheck For an Uncertain Income appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

I lasted an entire year and not only survived but thrived as well. I can’t believe how fast these last 12 months have flown by and that’s why I just want to slow down for a bit and reflect on everything that’s happened.

August 31, 2016, was my last day at my office job. Two of my coworkers walked me to my car after work to see me off and I remember driving away and reflecting on my decision. It was weird because I was excited and scared at the same time.

Some friends I’ve talked to said they were super emotional during their first week of self-employment. I actually cried a little when I wrote my 30-day notice (I have no idea why) but once September hit, I was in full hustle mode and determined to make my business work.

September 2016 was one of my busiest months. I had so much work and I was thankful for it. I probably worked almost every day that month and only took a few days off to attend FinCon.

FinCon was amazing and fed my confidence to reaffirm the fact that I could make this non-traditional business work. Self-employment is interesting because while you go into it with one intention, often times, you never know what you’re going to learn or where you’ll truly end up. Here are 5 unexpected truths I learned about running a business.

1. It’s Not ALL About the Numbers

In order to get to the point where I could quit my day job to become a full-time blogger and freelance writer, I had to focus heavily on the numbers to make sure I was earning enough money and had enough money saved up.

Related: Crucial Steps to Take Before Taking a Leap of Faith and Quitting Your Job

I used to set monthly income goals for myself based on how much I needed to earn to pay off my debt and quit my job. When I didn’t hit those goals, I’d beat myself up a little. When it did hit those goals, I’d set a new goal.

As you can see, focusing on just the numbers was a lose-lose situation. When you’re self-employed, there’s always the opportunity to earn more. At the same time, you can’t always predict your income and could have some low earning months.

I realized that if I focused solely on what I was earning and used that to measure my success, I’d never truly be happy because I’d always be looking forward to the ‘next level’. As a result, I stopped setting income goals.

I committed to keeping my expenses low so I really only need to live on less than $2k per month and I focused on measuring my success by other standards like the impact my work has on people, the relationship I have with my clients, the freedom and flexibility I get from working for myself, my improved mood and relationship with others, etc.

Making more money is awesome. I’m earning more than I ever have and have been able to do amazing things like pay down my student loan debt super fast and put my son in private school this year. But, money isn’t everything and it won’t always make you feel truly successful deep down at the end of the day.

2. You Never Do It Alone

When you hear the words ‘small business’ or ‘solepreneur’ you may get the impression that the person is running a one-man/woman-shop. Most times, that isn’t the case.

Yes, I do create my own schedule and work for and by myself 95% of the time, but I never really feel alone because I’ve been blessed to be a part of several communities with my peers.

I don’t think I would have been able to remain sane this year if I didn’t have the support and help from my other entrepreneur and blogger friends to lean on. I can’t attribute all my success to my actions alone.

I get help running my site from amazing people like Kim, Kristin, and Lindsey. When I’m ready to pull my hair out over technical issues on this blog, I reach out to Grayson.

When I need advice and support from someone who knows exactly what I deal with on a daily basis, I talk to Kayla, Erin. When I need tax advice and help organizing all my financial crap, Eric always comes to my rescue.

When I need accountability and that extra push to meet my goals to grow my business, I rely on my Mastermind group that includes Jason, Taylor, Tai. I feel like those three are my coworkers because we talk and bounce ideas off each other practically every week and Taylor and I talk almost every day.

There are so many other people who have impacted me and the success of my business and I’m so grateful for all their support and kindness. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

3. You Won’t Have More Time Unless You Make Time

Yes, it’s true. For some reason, I thought that when I became self-employed, I was going to have all this spare time and my work-life balance would be 100% better.

I used to work 60+ hours per week when I was juggling my full-time job with freelancing and this blog. To my surprise, becoming self-employed did practically nothing to free up more of my time.

If anything, I found myself working just as much. Like I said, last September was a crazy busy month for me and I worked almost every single day. I’ve had plenty of 7-day work weeks this past year (more than I’d like to admit) but after my first month of self-employment, I deliberately made an effort to slow down and enjoy my new lifestyle while gaining clarity about what I truly wanted to do with my business.

I love my business but truth is, I don’t want to be stuck working every day, all day. By not setting income goals, I’ve been able to give myself permission to create a lighter work schedule so I can spend more time with my family which is what I really want.

As a result, I’m probably not earning as much money as I could be, but it’s a tradeoff. Self-employment is not a walk in the park and I don’t spend every day sleeping in and eating bonbons while binging on Netflix.

I work a basic day schedule and still have to hustle my butt off and remain productive just so I can enjoy some time off.

Related: How to Improve Your Work-Life Balance

4. Some Days You Won’t Feel Inspired

Working on my business is my passion and it’s much better than working at a job that doesn’t inspire me. That being said, I’m not super inspired to work every single day.

I write a ton and some days I don’t want to write which makes things quite challenging since if I don’t write, I don’t make money. I’ve tried doing different things like changing my location by working outside or stopping by a coworking space to help me get more inspired and motivated to work some days.

Sometimes it works, other times, I just need a break. Each day is not perfect but at the end of the day I doing this if that even makes sense

Instead of relying on my business to be this huge source of happiness and inspiration in my life, I’d decided to make sure I have my own identity outside of what I do for a living. This year, I’ve made it a habit to meet more people in person and spend more time doing things with friends.

I started kickboxing and working out more last year as a fun outlet and to get healthier. I lost about 25 pounds but still have 25 more to go! I also started picking up more hobbies that have nothing to do with blogging or my business. For example, I’m volunteering more at my son’s school and getting back into playing the drums which is something I used to do several years ago.

5. It Will Change Your Life Forever

Finally, you might have expected this to be true but you have no idea until you’ve experienced self-employment first hand. It changes you forever. You take HUGE risks, you realize a lot about yourself and unlock hidden strengths you never knew you had.

You fail. You succeed. You put yourself out there and hope for the best. Then, you do it all over again.

In a sense, running a business is basically like having a kid. You nurture it and give it your all. No matter how long it’s been, your work is never done and you have to stick it out during the good times and the bad.

There have been a few times when I thought about getting a traditional job again or even a part-time job. I don’t see myself doing that anytime soon, but if I ever did go back to work one day, I’d have a whole different outlook after experiencing self-employment. It’s like seeing something you can’t unsee. It’s hard to explain.

What’s Next?

Now that I’ve made it through year 1, I’m sure I’ll learn more lessons along the way. I’m excited about the future because I know I can make it out to be whatever I want. I hope to grow my business to reach more people by interacting with them one-on-one (I just launched a new one-on-one coaching program for anyone who’s looking for my help in getting their finances back on track). I want to continue writing great content and helping my clients reach their editorial goals.

Writing-wise, I am thinking about expanding my services to offer copywriting and marketing content packages for other businesses. Over the summer, I earned my certification as a Financial Education Instructor am really looking into teaching financial literacy workshops and events.

Most importantly, I’m ready for the wild ride that will be year 2 and every year after that.

P.S.

I am hoping to get in the running to win an award for all my writing work at this year’s Financial Blogger’s Conference. If you could take a minute to click here and nominate me for the ‘Best Freelancer/Contributor’ category and ‘Best Debt Freedom Blog’ I’d be honored/ecstatic! Thanks for your support

The post 5 Unexpected Truths About Running a Business first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 5 Unexpected Truths About Running a Business appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

I don’t talk a lot about my freelancing experiences so I wanted to change that because it’s actually a big part of my life now. It’s money related and I do it every day. Plus, I think sharing more of what I’ve learned and experienced about freelance writing will be helpful to anyone who is interested in breaking into that field.

Today I wanted to cover some common misconceptions about freelance writers. I still feel like many people I talk to don’t understand what I do and what it takes to be successful so I thought this would be a fun post to debunk some things.

Here are 4 of the most common misconceptions about freelance writers and why they’re not true.

1. All Freelance Writers Are Amazing Writers

If you write for a living or on the side, some people may think that you’re just an all-around amazing writer or else you wouldn’t have the nerve to get into freelancing.

I hate to burst that bubble and I don’t mean to knock other writers but the truth is, no one is a perfect writer – I’m definitely not. It takes time and practice for your skills to improve so don’t get discouraged if you think you’re not a good enough writer.

Also, there are many different types of niches when it comes to freelance writing and it’s best to narrow down your talents. For example, I’ve had people ask me to write papers and essays for them or do technical writing and those things are just not my forte.

To become a successful freelance writer, I think you do need to be a talented writer and have proper grammar and spelling skills, but there is more to it than that and those characteristics can also be developed over time.

2. Freelance Writers Do A Lot of Free Work

This is another misconception that bothers/confuses me. I’ve been asked by people to write for free since college. When I was a student, I was fine with doing it sometimes. But now that I run a business, it’s less likely that I’ll produce free content.

If you’re just getting started and trying to build up your portfolio, I think doing a few free guest articles for other websites or bloggers you’re familiar with is fine and can help. However, I wouldn’t get into the habit of doing it all the time.

Writing is real work and requires lots of time and energy. As a freelance writer, I not only come up with content ideas, but I also perform research, conduct interviews, edit my work etc. If you’re trying to earn a real profit from freelance writing, you’ll have to realize that you may have expenses you need to meet in order to keep your business running along with some unpaid work like emailing clients, sending pitches, creating invoices, marketing etc.

All of those things add up which is why freelance writers can’t do a ton of free work.

Related: How to Get Started with Freelance Writing

3. It’s Hard to Earn a Lot of Money From Freelance Writing

This is a myth that I actually believed when I got started. I signed up for freelance writing coaching program with my friend and mentor Cat Alford and I recall setting goals with her and telling her I wanted to earn at least $1,000 in freelance writing income.

Cat was really inspirational to me as she was supporting her husband who was in med school at the time and their two twins off her freelance writing income.

Once I got started though, I felt discouraged since it was harder than I thought to earn that much money in one month’s time. Fast forward to recently, I earned $10,000 from freelance writing alone toward the end of the year.

What changed? I got better at writing, pitching, and expanding my network. I write every day and I love what I do so quitting wasn’t an option. Freelance writing is interesting because it often starts out slow and you have to stick with it.

One day, you’re trying to get new clients and have a lot of time on your hands. Then the next day, you’re overbooked and have plenty of work to keep you busy. Overall, freelance writing has the potential to be a very profitable career.

I knew many freelance writers who earn six figures each year. Holly from Club Thrifty is one who earned an average of $225,000 from freelance writing alone last year.

In my 5 years of being a Freelance Writer I’ve went from writing for free to earning over 6-figures per year. My course Freedom With Freelance Writing details what I’ve done over the years so you don’t make the same mistakes starting out as I did.

4. Anyone Can Become a Freelance Writer

Freelance writing is great and I love it which is why I recommend it often to people who are looking for a flexible way to earn more money. However, it’s important to realize that freelancing may not be a good fit for everyone.

If you don’t like the idea of having a fluctuating income and the uncertainty that comes with losing and gaining clients at random times throughout the year, you may not like it.

You also may have trouble maintaining your workload over time. You may get tired of writing or start having long stints of writer’s block. To combat this, I recommend establishing clients with writing assignments that you love working on or being able to pitch your own ideas and write about things that interest you.

Another thing you might want to consider is trying out freelance writing in addition to offering another service like virtual assistant work that way you can diversify your workload and income.

All in all, you’ll have to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons to determine if freelance writing is right for you.

I don’t mind writing all the time and I actually like sending out pitches to potential clients. I also love the freedom and flexibility that freelance writing provides. I can work from anywhere and whenever I want. I also work a little less now that I’m freelancing full-time as opposed to when I worked a 9-5 job.

I feel much more present in my family’s life and most important, I’m doing something I love each day.

I hope debunking these common myths shed some light on what freelance writing is really like. If you’re looking for more tips to help you get started as a freelance writer, you can always check out the post I linked to above.

Did you ever believe any of these common misconceptions about freelance writing? Have you heard anything that isn’t on this list?

The post 4 Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 4 Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.